Electric braking system



y 1941- J. w. McNAlRY ELECTRIC BRAKING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 31, 1941 Fig. I.

VEHICLE SPEED Inventor I Jacob W. MCNaiTld.

bk:l HIS Attorney- Patented July 8, 194-1 i FlCE ELECTRIC BRAKING SYSTEM Jacob W. McNairy, Bridgeport, Conn, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application January 31, 1941, Serial No. 3%,809

8 Claims.

My invention relates to electric braking systems for vehicles such as electric buses, railway cars and the like, and particularly to dynamic braking motor control systems for direct current series motors.

A necessary characteristic of any successful electric vehicle brake is that the braking efiort have a definite maximum value sufficiently low to safeguard the mechanical parts of the vehicle transmission and the comfort of the passengers. A direct current self-excited dynamo-electric ma chine, when connected as a generator for dynamic braking, cannot of itself satisfy this requirement. Such a machine inherently provides a braking effort having a series characteristic with respect to the speed of the vehicle. When electric brakes are provided on railway cars having steel wheels rolling on steel rails the adhesion is sufiiciently low so that slippage of the wheels may be depended upon to limit the maximum braking effort. However, in trolley coaches and buses the adhesion between the rubber tires and dry pavement is so great that wheel slippage cannot be depended upon to limit the braking effort.

One rather complicated method of reducing maximum braking effort is to provide a large number, of increments of braking resistance. In order, however, to provide an inherently stable dynamic braking operation having a substantially constant braking effort over a wide range of vehicle speeds, the traction motor fields may be excited by a voltage which varies approximately inversely with the speed of the vehicle.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a field exciting system for a direct current dynamo-electric machine which will enable the machine to develop a stable dynamic braking torque having a limited maximum value.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a field exciting system for use in connection with the dynamic braking of a dynamo-electric machine which shall operate only under partial load whenever the machine is not connected for dynamic braldng.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a field exciting system for use in connection with the dynamic braking of a dynamo-electric machine which will permit a very rapid buildup and prompt application of braking effort.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a field exciting system for use in connection with the dynamic braking of a dynamoelectric machine which shall supply its rated voltage only during dynamic braking operation,

whereby it is capable of withstanding relatively high overloads during such periods.

Among the outstanding advantages of my invention is its applicability to existing electrically driven vehicles not originally provided with electric braking.

I have shown my invention in one form as applied to a seli-excited direct current electric vehicle drive of the series-parallel type provided with two traction motors and an accelerating resistor. For exciting the motor fields during braking I provide a small shunt excited direct current generator the excitation of which is controlled by a voltage regulator. This field exciting generator may advantageously be of the type commonly employed for battery charging service on internal combustion engine driven vehicles. in order to reduce the load upon the regulator during motoring operation means are provided for reducing the field excitationv of the generator when the braking connections are disabled. For dynamic braking operation I energize the fields of the traction motors in series with each other and with a braking resistor from the small generator, and connect the armatures of the traction motors in series with each other across the braking resister in such a manner that the voltage developed in the traction motor armatures opposes the voltage of the auxiliary generator.

For a more complete understanding of my invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a diagrammatic representation of an electric vehicle control system embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a simplified circuit diagram of connections of the dynamic braking circuit; and Fig. 3 is a graphical representation of various braking effort characteristics.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown an electric vehicle control system for two traction motors having armatures it and ii and series fields it and I3, respectively. For motoring operation switching means are providecl for connecting the motors in series or in parallel between positive and negative trolleys l4 and i5, respectively. Starting resistors l6 and ll are arranged to control the acceleration of the motors in. accordance with the position of an accelerating controller 48. By way of example I have shown the controller it as manually operated, but it will be understood by those sldlled in the art that the controller may be automatically operated if desired by any one of a number of well known electric control systems. A switch [9 is arranged to connect the motors in series with the resistors It and ii between the trolleys it and to. This series circuit may be followed from the trolley id through a p ir of contacts 25 of a line breaker LB, an operating coil '25 of an overload relay 23, the armature it? and field 52 of one traction motor, the controller E8, the resistor 96, the resistor i'i, another section of the controller iii, the field i3 and the armature ii of the traction motor, and a pair of contacts 2'; of the line breaker L3 to the trolley i5. For operation of the motors in parallel a pair of switches 23 and 2.1 may be closed and the switch is opened. It is believed that the parallel circuit connection of the motors will be obvious in View of the series circuit previously traced. I wish to have understood that, while I have shown the switches i9, 28 and 23 as manually operated, these switches may be arranged for automatic control, if desi ed, by any electric control system well known to those skiled in the art.

For connecting the motors to the trolleys l4 and 5 for motoring operation I have shown the line breaker LB provided with an operating coil 5 which is energized from the trolleys l4 and 2' through a contact finger 3i operated by a cam 32 associated with a controller ill. The energizing circuit for the operating coil 38 also includes a pair of normally closed contacts 33 on the overload relay 25 and a pair of normally closed contacts associated with a braking contactor Bi. The cam 32 is arranged to maintain the contact finger 3i closed in all running positions of the controller 13 but to open the contact finger when the controller is in its off posltion.

For completing dynamic braking connections, my preferred arrangement includes a pair of braking contactcrs Bi and B2 which energized from an axle driven field exciting generator 35 when braking is called for. The excitation of the shunt field of the generator 35 is controlled during dynamic braking and motoring operation by a voltage regulator 4i.

During motoring operation the line breaker LB is picked up, and energization of the braking cont actors Bi and B2 is prevented by the opening of a normally closed interlock contact 42 on the line breaker. An operating pedal l3 for a braking controller (not shown) is operatively connected to a transfer switch 44 and biased into the position shown in Fig. 1 by a spring The transfer switch M comprises two pairs of contacts 2-6 and ll. During motoring operation the biased pedal 43 maintains the contacts to closed and the contacts 51 open. The contacts when closed, short circuit a calibrating resistor in the circuit oi a voltage responsive cpeating coil is of the regulator ll. The operating coil &9 of the regulator is thereby enabled to operate the movable contact arm 50 at a relatively low voltage. Consequently during motoring operation the terminal voltage of the generator is maintained at a relatively low value.

For maintaining any predetermined voltage the regulator t! is provided with two resistors 55 and and a. pair of stationary contacts 5? and 53. The movable contact 56 of the regulater is biased into engagement with the stationary contact 5? a spring When the contacts 5e and 55? are in engagement, the shunt field of the generator 35 is connected directly across the output terminals of the generator. If the generator voltage tends to rise sufficiently to enable the operating coil 49 of the regulator to disengage the contacts and 51, the shunt circuit around the resistor is removed and this resistor is placed in series with the shunt field d8 of the generator. The decrease in generated voltage resulting from the connection of the series resistor 55 ordinarily so reduces the operating force of the coil 49 that the contacts and 5? will again engage. Ordinarily this regulating action of the contact 59 on the contact 5; is suificient to maintain a predetermined voltage. If, however, the generator voltage tends to rse suificiently to cause the contact 50 to engage the contact as due to a very high vehicle speed, a field shunting resistor 58 is connected across the shunt field $9 or" the generator :25 to further reduce the field energization.

The vehicle may be allowed to coast by returning the master controller 8 to its off position shown in Fig. l and allowing the brake pedal 13 to remain in the biased off position shown. With the controllers in these positions neither the motoring nor the braking circuits are established. The energizing circuit for the line breaker LB is disabled at the contact finger 3| of the controller i8, while the energizing circuit for the operating coils 55 and GB of the braking contractors Bi and B2, respectively, is disabled at the contacts 4'! of the pedal operated transfer switch 44.

In order to establish dynamic braking the braking pedal 43 must be depressed. With the n st movement of the braking pedal the transfer switch 44 opens its contacts i5 and closes its contacts 4?. With the opening of the contacts to the operating point of the voltage regulator s! is raised due to the insertion of the resistor E3 in series with the operating coil &9 of the regulator. When the contacts 47 of the transfer switch 54 are closed an energizing circuit is completed for the operating coils G5 and 66 of the braking relays Bi and B2, respectively. This energizing circuit may be traced from the positive side of the generator 35 through the operating coils 35 and in series and the contacts 41 of the transfer switch 44 to the grounded side of the gener tor When the braking contactor B2 picks up it connects the field exciting generator 3-5- to the traction motors fields l2 and i3 through the contacts 81 and 68, respectively, of the contact-or When the braking contactor Bi picks up it closes its contacts E9 and 10 to connect the braking resistors H and i2, respectively, across the fields and armatures of the traction motors in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

From an inspection of the polarities indicated on Fig. 1 it will be observed that when the braking connections are established the field exciting generator supplies to the field windings l2 and i3 a direct current of the same polarity as the current supplied to these windings during motoring operation. The voltage generated in the armatures i3 and H of the traction motors will therefore be in the same direction as the back electromotive force developed during motoring operation and will send a current through these armatures in a direction opposite to that of the current flowing through the armatures during motoring. Referring now particularly to Fig. 2 it will be observed that the voltage of the field exciting generator 35 is opposed by the voltage generated in the armatures l0 and H of the traction motors, and that these voltages tend to send additive currents through the braking resistor 12.

It will now be apparent that the voltage available for exciting the field windings l2 and I3 is the difference of the voltages generated by the field exciting generator and the traction motor armatures Iii and Il. Thus, at standstill the excitation of the field windings I2 and I3 is a maximum; and the field winding excitation gradually diminishes as the vehicle speed and traction motor armature voltage increases. Ihe result of this arrangement is that at high vehicle speeds the braking effort does not build up with a series characteristic but tends to limit itself to a definite maximum, while, as the speed of the vehicle and the voltage of the armatures is and ll decreases, the current through the field windings increases to maintain a substantially constant dynamic braking eiiort over a wide range or" vehicle speeds.

InFig. 3 I have shown on curve A the braking effort characteristic of a direct current series excited generator when simply connected in a loop circuit with a resistor for dynamic braking. Curve B represents the braking efiort characteristic obtained from a system constructed in accordance with my invention.

By automatically recalibrating the voltage regulator 4| to maintain a low voltage at the terminals of the field exciting generator 3% whenever the traction motors are not connected for dynamic braking, my invention greatly reduces the load on the regulator contacts over a major portion of its operating period. Ordinarily, dynamic braking connections are established for only a small part of the operating period of the vehicle. Furthermore, the operation of the field exciting generator 35 at reduced voltage is preferable to complete the deenergization of the generator shunt field during motoring operation. By operating the generator at reduced voltage during motoring operation a very quick build-up and prompt application of braking eilort is made possible. This is: due to the fact that in the building up of a self-excited machine most of the time required for build-up is utilized to establish the initial voltage rise. By operating the generator at reduced voltage the time required to establish an initial voltage rise is eliminated. Operation of the machine partially excited at all times also prevents accidental reversals of polarity such as have been found to occur under certain conditions if the generator is operated without excitation when the braking connections are not established. A further notable advantage of my invention is its ability to take relatively heavy overloads during braking operation. Since the dynamic braking cycle is of relatively short duration, the field exciting generator ordinarily operates at a relatively low temperature due to the fact that core and excitation losses are reduced by the low voltage setting of the regulator.

While I have shown one preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto since various modifications will occur to those skilled in the arts; and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a dynamic braking system, a momentum driven dynamo-electric machine having an armature and a series field winding, a braking resistor connected in circuit with said armature, a momentum driven generator connected with said field winding and said resistor, and means for reducing the excitation of said generator upon the removal of load therefrom.

2. In a dynamic braking system, a braking controller, a momentum driven dynamo-electric machine having an armature and a series field winding, a braking resistor connected to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armature, a momentum driven generator connected in series with said field winding across a portion of said dynamic braking circuit, and means operable in conjunction with said braking controller for controlling the excitation of said generator.

3. In a dynamic braking system, a braking controller a momentum driven dynamo-electric machine having an armature and a series field winding, a braking resistor connected to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armature, a momentum driven generator connected in series with said field winding across a portion of said dynamic braking circuit, and switching means operable in conjunction with said braking controller for increasing the excitation of said generator upon the establishment of dynamic braking and decreasing the excitation of said generator upon the discontinuance of dynamic braking.

4. In a dynamic braking system, a momentum driven dynamo-electric maclrne having an armature and series field winding, a braking resistor connected to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armature, a braking controller, a momentum driven generator connected in series with said field winding across said braking resistor, a voltage regulator for controlling said generator, and means operable in conjunction with said braking controller to change the calibration of said voltage regulator.

5. In a dynamic braking system, a braking controller, a momentum driven direct current dynamo-electric machine having an armature and a series field winding, a dynamic braking resistor for said machine, first switching means arranged to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armature and said resistor, a momentum driven generator for exciting said field Winding, second switching means arranged to connect said generator and said series field winding to a portion of said dynamic braking circuit in such a manner that the voltage of said generator opposes the voltage developed in said armature during dynamic braking, and third switching means operable in conjunction with said braking controller for controlling the excitation of said generator.

6. In a dynamic braking system for an electric vehicle, a. direct current traction motor provided with an armature and a series field winding, a dynamic braking resistor for said motor, first switching means arranged to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armature and said resistor, a momentum driven direct current generator for exciting said field winding, second switching means arranged to connect said generator and said series field winding to a portion of said dynamic braking circuit in such a manner that the voltage or" said generator opposes the voltage developed in said armature during dynamic braking, a voltage regulator for maintaining the voltage of said generator substantially constant over a wide range of speed of said vehicle, electro-responsive operating means for said first and second switching means, and control means arranged simultaneously to energize said operating means and to change the calibration of said voltage regulator.

7. In a dynamic braking system for an electricvehicle, a direct current traction motor provided with an armature and a series field winding, a dynamic bra-king resistor for said motor, a braking controller having an oil position, first switching means arranged to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armature and said resistor, a momentum-driven direct current generator provided with a shunt field winding, second switching means arranged to connect said generator in series with series field winding to a portion of said dynamic braking circuit in such a manner that the voltage of said generator opposes the voltage developed in said armature during dynamic braking, a voltage regulator for controlling said shunt field winding to maintain the voltage of said generator at a substantially constant selected value over a wide range of speed of said vehicle, electro-responsive operating means for said first and second switching means, and third switching means operable upon movement of said braking controller from its off position simultaneously to complete an energizing circuit for said operating means and change the calibration of said voltage regulator.

8. In a dynamic braking system for an electric vehicle, a plurality of direct current traction motors each provided with an armature and a series field winding, a dynamic braking resistor for said motors, a braking controller having an off position, first switching means arranged to complete a dynamic braking circuit including said armatures and said resistor, a momentum-driven direct current generator provided with a shunt field winding, second switching means arranged to connect said generator in series with said series field windings to a portion of said dynamic braking circuit in such manner that the voltage of said generator opposes the voltage developed in said armatures during dynamic braking, a voltage regulator for controlling said shunt field Winding to maintain the voltage of said generator at a substantially constant selected value over a wide range of speed of said vehicle, electromagnetic operating means for said first and second switching means, and a transfer switch operable upon movement of said braking controller from said ofi position to complete an energizing circuit for said operating means and to connect a calibrating resistor in series with said voltage regulator.

JACOB W. MoNAIRY. 

